Is anybody disappointed in the T-shirt quality ? Oakley is using cheaper material for same money. I hope they are gonna change that soon.

Depends on which shirt.

I've had some shirts that have lasted me 3 years of almost weekly wear.

Others, have lasted 1 year. I'm averaging about a year and a half on my t-shirts.


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Oakley's never had the best t-shirts on the market. The ones I've had either shrunk readily or came apart at the seams, and I wash my tees on gentle, in cold water and hang dry.

That said, Oakley's tees are inexpensive, so I don't expect much and meet those expectations.

I mean if I compare my old shirts to the new ones. They new ones are just horrible. I bought one 6 months ago and got one yesterday for christmas and same cheap material. I mean come on they want 30 CAN$ - 35 CAN$ for a shirt and after 2 weeks they are ready to go into the garbage.

It's true, the old tees were much heavier, almost harder cotton than that of the new tees. But as with most sports brands nowadays(billabong, volcom etc) the tees are disposable.

In my experience, the older, thicker stock actually fell apart faster than today's thinner stock. Personally, I think the thinner wears more comfortably as well, even if they did cheap out and put in more polyester/reyon/baumewolle content into the shirts.

I have a Tee from around 2003 and it's still in excellent condition. High grade Cotton and it has totally kept it's shape.
I've started wearing tee's more often and bought some of the new designs and find the fit is great but the cotton quality a little to be desired.

But as with most sports brands nowadays(billabong, volcom etc) the tees are disposable.

I'd have to agree with this, why would they want you wearing your old Tee's they want you out buying new ones. But please make them more affordable if you want me to do that.
Here in Oz a new Oakley Tee starts at $46. You won't buy to many at that price every yr. Knock them out at $20-30 and it would be a whole different story.

Although it's up to Oakley on what tees they use, they may also be at the mercy of the factories they use. If they want a certain weight, but it's not available, they can only go with what the factories give them. I don't know how it is now, but I remember back then they tested materials at HQ. Tested them for shrinking, torquing, colorfastness, etc.

And some of those test samples end up for sale on eBay.
A few years back, I bought this sweater with evaluation, correction info still attached!

My favorite Oakley shirt is a moisture-wicking, almost Under Armor-like piece of awesomeness. It's got an Icon embroidered right in the center of the chest. It was a $30 shirt, though. Entirely badass, and very good quality.

Although it's up to Oakley on what tees they use, they may also be at the mercy of the factories they use. If they want a certain weight, but it's not available, they can only go with what the factories give them. I don't know how it is now, but I remember back then they tested materials at HQ. Tested them for shrinking, torquing, colorfastness, etc.

They still do in R & D. The Factory sends them fabric samples then they test to for all of the above mentioned.

I've actually noticed a number of much better (quality and fit) t-shirts coming out over the past year. However, I also have noticed that those are mixed in with a lot of t-shirts with a really thin-cotton feel to them. I just presumed it was a different style or trend. But I can agree that the whole quality and fit of t-shirts is frustrating, especially if you are trying to buy without the benefit of seeing/feeling/trying them on prior.

O T-shirts to me have always been a lot like the shoe sizes. Very random. In quality and size. I can only assume they come from multiple suppliers and therefore vary in size and quality.

The "oakley Software" and the "static Icon" back then has great designs as well as quality, I'm still using some. Now its more of a wear once, throw away type and the designs are leaning towards hollister and abercrombe & fitch market.

I can only assume they come from multiple suppliers and therefore vary in size and quality.

That is a big part of it, all though in the next year or two that will be changing which should bring much better consistency.

I have noticed that where the t-shirt is made also has a lot to do with the quality. The ones with the thinner collar seem to be the ones to now hold up as well.

O T-shirts to me have always been a lot like the shoe sizes. Very random. In quality and size. I can only assume they come from multiple suppliers and therefore vary in size and quality

From personal experience, I know the contracted manuf. in China put ads in local ExPat magazines looking for "models" for size runs. I had a friend who worked for the company that produces Sean John, Tommy Hilfiger and other brands. So you'd get a college kid who likes baggy clothes show up at the office and the designers ask him "what size do you wear". He LIKES TO BUY XL Shirts and likes the baggy look so he promptly replies, " I wear and Xtra Large". So the line designer happliy measures this kid and uses him as the model for that size run. In reality, this kit is a Large, but based on his answer to the question, the manuf. now believes these dimensions are for an Extra Large.

then you get me showing up for fitting, I say Extra large, and I am, indeed, an extra large. I also used to bring t-shirts made in the US for them to measure, as well. My cousin is a fashion designer who now runs a division of a company that produces clothing for several brands. ALthough he's based in taiwan, he makes it a point to get clothing dimensions from the US, if he knows that line is going to produce clothing for the US market.

Just some more reasons why there coudl be so much disparity..

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